Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said she is “interested” in running for Chicago mayor and is circulating petitions to get her name on the February ballot but hasn’t yet made a decision to run.

Preckwinkle spoke to the media after Wednesday’s County Board meeting, shortly after Rep. Luis Gutierrez declared he wouldn’t run to replace Mayor Rahm Emanuel in next year’s election and instead was supporting County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia.

Garcia, who lost to Emanuel in the city’s first mayoral runoff election in 2015, is running to replace Gutierrez in the U.S. House. He has acknowledged weighing a potential run to replace Emanuel but has not announced a decision.

Although she said she hasn’t made a decision to run, the 71-year-old Preckwinkle said her extensive experience in city and county government gives her a “unique understanding” of the issues and challenges the region faces.

“I have served the city and the county together for more than a quarter of a century. Nineteen of them as alderman, almost eight as County Board president,” Preckwinkle said. “I believe that experience gives me a unique understanding of the issues and challenges that our region faces.”

Asked about Gutierrez’s endorsement of Garcia, who is her floor leader on the County Board, Preckwinkle said, “I understand that that’s what he said.” She repeated her response on a subsequent question about her thoughts on the endorsement.

She wouldn’t comment on whether Garcia would make a good mayor, though she praised his work as her floor leader.

“We’re very grateful for the good work that he’s done … particularly around criminal justice, affordable housing and advocating for working families,” Preckwinkle said.

Preckwinkle, who also is the Cook County Democratic Party chairwoman, wields significant power in local politics. Over the years, she’s cultivated an image as a reformer but has been criticized for being too close to controversial former party Chair Joseph Berrios.

Still, she called the notion that she would be the “machine” candidate in the race “ridiculous.”

“I’ve been a progressive Democrat my whole life,” Preckwinkle said.

Preckwinkle also is known for implementing a controversial tax on sweetened beverages — popularly called the pop tax by critics — that was repealed amid a public outcry. She said she didn’t think that controversy would be an impediment to any campaign she might put forth.

“I was just re-elected in the Democratic primary with 60 percent of the vote,” Preckwinkle said. “That’s a reflection of the confidence the people of Cook County have in my leadership.”

Emanuel shook the city’s political landscape last week when he made the surprise announcement that he would abandon his bid for a third term to spend more time with his wife, Amy, and move on to an unspecified “next chapter” of his life.